A government-owned gaming company has launched a new app for sports betting in Ontario that caters to both digital and retail customers, putting the Crown agency in a better position to counter the competition in its home market as the NFL regular season approaches.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) announced on Monday that its “first of its kind” app is now live, allowing players to place bets via the company’s PROLINE+ online sportsbook. The free app also permits players to build a bet, generate a barcode, and then take that barcode to one of almost 10,000 retail locations across the province to buy a PROLINE ticket.
While OLG already had a bet-builder feature for PROLINE players, it did not have a purely online wagering app, which many of its competitors already offer. Adding one could allow the company to fight harder for handle with the 21 rival operators that are now doing business legally in Ontario after the province launched a regulated market for internet casino gambling and online sports betting in April.
"OLG continues to expand our unique and integrated product offerings for our valued customers," said Dave Pridmore, OLG's chief digital and strategy officer, in a press release. "The new app gives players the unprecedented ability to make a sports bet directly on the app or at retail using the bet builder functionality.”
No lack of rivals
Canadian provinces were only authorized to allow single-game sports betting since last August, after federal lawmakers passed legislation that put an end to the country's longstanding, parlay-heavy model of legal wagering.
OLG was previously the only legal provider of internet-based gambling in Ontario and was quick out of the gate to launch a new online sportsbook, PROLINE+, that offered single-game wagering. However, the book was available through a website, not an app, which some smartphone users prefer.
Then, when Ontario’s new iGaming market opened on April 4, provincial gamblers suddenly had multiple legal operators to choose from, and many of them had apps. Ontario is the only province in Canada with such a regulatory system for legal sports betting.
Yet OLG has maintained its steady course, relying on its well-known brand in the province and the fact that its profits are used to help fund education, health care, and other government priorities as key selling points. The Crown agency has also struck several official partnerships with major sports leagues, such as the NHL and NFL.
Just-in-time delivery
OLG said Monday that the new app, like its other products, is designed to promote responsible play by gamblers, and includes tools such as loss limits. Ontario residents who are 18 or older can use the bet-builder feature to buy PROLINE tickets, while players who are 19 or older can wager online using PROLINE+.
The new OLG app has launched in time for the start of the National Football League’s regular season as well, which is expected to prompt further competition among provincial operators to acquire customers.
OLG's app is available for iOS and Android devices, similar to those of rivals, but its retail component is something the company's rivals don't have. There are no brick-and-mortar sportsbooks yet in the province and zero capability for private operators to offer sports betting through lottery retailers, unlike OLG.
“This latest product enhancement reinforces our commitment to convenience and choice for our players while also offering a competitive sports book with the confidence, trust, and goodwill of the OLG brand,” Pridmore said in the release.
